Method and Apparatus For Monitoring and Responding to Land Use Activities

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a method and apparatus for monitoring the use of land. More specifically, the invention monitors the use of land at a specified site, as well as at adjacent sites. The invention answers the question of how to manage risks resulting from external activities and how to intervene proactively.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/897,545, filed Jul. 23, 2004, which claims priority to U.S.provisional patent application No. 60/489,998, filed on Jul. 24, 2003,the entirety of each which is incorporated herein by this referencethereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to land use. More particularly, the inventionrelates to a method and apparatus for monitoring and responding to landuse activities.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Any land based property, e.g. land, a building, an apartment, acommercial structure, which may include such resources as a water well,is not only an asset but also potentially a liability. The liabilityattendant with such a property is typically attributable to anypollution in the ground, any noise or air pollution related to theproperty, or any potentially dangerous use of the property. Therefore,the owner (or sometimes the user, such as tenant) of a property needs toprotect his asset and manage such liability to optimize the net salesvalue or use value of the property (see FIG. 1, which is a graphicrepresentation of the asset and liability aspects of real property).

The difficulty of managing land based assets and liabilities is thatthey exist in a dynamic environment with constant changes and outsideinfluences (see FIG. 2, which is a graphic representation of thepotential economic risks and losses associated with real property).

Events External to Site

Today more than ever, it is important to monitor events occurring in thevicinity of a site. These external events or activities can be of manydifferent kinds, such as set forth in FIG. 2, but they are not limitedto such activities. For example, a change in zoning law can increase ordecrease the land based property by either expanding or limiting thefuture use of the property. A change in traffic can also increase ordecrease the property's value. In the case of a residential area theimpact of a traffic pattern change is negative; in a retail environmentcertain kinds of traffic increase can be very positive for the use valueand therefore value of the property.

In the event of underground pollution there is a serious liabilityrelated to the property. Often, even after a polluted site has beencleaned up, there remains some amount of residual contamination left inthe ground because today's technology and/or exorbitant costs do notallow a complete clean-up. Furthermore, often the pollution is notlimited to the site, but extends underground to neighboring areas.

Pollution is not limited to underground pollution. It could be, forexample, air pollution or noise, which travels outside of the boundariesof a property. In the above cases, a property owner is often not onlyliable for the pollution attributable to the site owned, but also forit's outside reach, even though the owner has no control over such area.If today someone uses the land inappropriately the likely damages causedby the property owner increase. For example, there are an estimated250,000 to 400,000 active and former gas stations in the U.S., where nomore than 125,000 of those are actually active current gas stations. Gasstations are notorious underground polluters.

There is an additional important element of complexity, i.e. thepollution is often underground and is not limited to the boundary ofland ownership. The plume of such pollution often reaches intoneighboring properties and public roadways. Most of current and formergas stations, for example, have such underground pollution extendingoutside of the property boundaries, the plume (area) of which in mostcases extends to outside of the property. For example, consider a daycare center being built on a property in the vicinity of a current orformer gas station, where the plume extends under that property. Yearslater it becomes evident that the gases released from the plume havecaused a health damage to the people using the day care center. Withoutquestion, the gas station owner is liable for the damage, which nowextends to millions of dollars in legal costs, damages, and possiblepenalties. In this example, the wrong land use in the vicinity of theproperty has caused huge damage in liability costs to the propertyowner. This damage could have been easily averted if the property ownerhad been made aware during the planning stage that a day care center isbeing planned at the site. In that event the property owner could havetaken a range of actions, such as alerting the city planning departmentand asking them to revoke the building permit, providing an incentive tothe owner of the property for the planned day care center to find adifferent site, or finding a safer use for the property, such as acommercial building with appropriate engineering barriers, or a parkinggarage, etc.

Events Internal to Site

It is also important to monitor activities occurring at the site. Thisis important for reasons such as unauthorized access and protectionagainst fire and other emergencies. However, there is a new element andthat is to monitor the land use at the site.

The land use can be restricted in a number of ways, such as:

-   -   Local and regional zoning restrictions;    -   Deed restrictions, i.e. restrictions which are documented in the        deed of land; and    -   Institutional controls (for a definition, see below).

This is often necessary because not all the pollution can be removed.Such limits, for example, specify that the land can be used for certaintypes of commercial use, but not for residential development, or thatnone of the ground can be removed or dug into.

Many institutional controls have been implemented over the past 3-5years. However, to date there is no method to monitor the enforcement ofsuch controls.

PRIOR ART

Today, there are many tools that may be used to manage events internalto the site, i.e. any activities not related to external influences.These tools include fire or smoke detectors, heat and motion sensors,video cameras, groundwater and other sampling methods, and similartools. For example, a fire or security alarm system alarm monitors theinternal events and determines, for example, “Is there any smoke orfire?” or “Is there an intruder physically at the site trying to enterthe building or property or certain areas within the property?” Theperson monitoring the cameras or data collection with respect to thesealarm systems may or may not be located at the site.

These methods have in common that they detect a physical change orelement, such as chemicals in the air or physical objects moving in thevicinity. These methods do not address the issue of how the land isbeing used, nor how the adjacent land is being used. Furthermore, whiletoday's tools may detect the presence of something, they cannot detectfuture or intended events. Finally, none of today's methods ofmonitoring are linked to a fixed geographic area or space.

Groundwater and soil sampling is the method currently used byenvironmental regulators. Monitoring wells from which samples are takenquarterly are installed at and around a polluted site. The resultsprovide information of whether the contamination has changed at thatwell. The regulator deducts from a series of sampling results if thereare any positive or negative changes. The nature of quarterly samplinghas many shortcomings, including:

-   -   The sample is always post event or reactive. For example, the        sample picks up that the contamination has moved underground.        The sample can never be proactive, ie. detect that an event is        about to happen, such as construction de-watering which can        cause changes in ground water patterns, which in turn shift or        move the contamination plume. Therefore, knowing about planned        construction and construction method could proactively avoid an        underground movement of the pollution;    -   The sample provides no information of the vents above ground.        Sampling can never detect a change in land use, such as the        opening of a school, nor could it detect trenching work, such as        building a new sewer line through the contamination, possibly        exposing workers to unsafe conditions.

Geographic information, e.g. street address, longitude/latitude data,displayed on maps is also widely used. The most common use is of onlinemaps, such as driving directions. Earlier versions showed a propertylocation marked with a marker, which is typically positioned at thecenter of the geographic property. More advanced versions show theactual or estimated shape of the property location. More sophisticatedtools include, for example, a store locator. Other methods includeoverlays, where a certain characteristic, such as micro-climate, isimaged as a shape on top of a map.

Land use at a site is today regulated by the local/municipal andgovernment permitting process, as well as local, state and federalagencies. To some extent it is monitored after the permit has beenissued by building and other inspectors.

There are no known and effective methods of tracking institutionalcontrols. The EPA states in a draft paper “ . . . proper implementation,monitoring, and enforcement is essential to the effectiveness of the IC. . . . Draft Guide” (Institutional Controls: A Guide to Implementing,Monitoring, and Enforcing Institutional Controls, February 2003). Thispaper identifies the need for monitoring, but does not mention anymethod or procedure for accomplishing such monitoring.

Currently bills concerning land reuse and revitalization are in thelegislative process in California (California Land Reuse andRevitalization Act of 2004), other states, and on a Federal level. Thesebills establish the legal framework to facilitate the redevelopment ofabout 600,000 brownfields in the U.S. These bills typically include anappropriate care requirement which provides that the new user of thebrownfield must be in compliance with land use controls established withrespect to the use of the site. There is currently no method inoperation to satisfy this requirement.

It would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus formonitoring and responding to land use activities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method and apparatus for monitoring the use ofland. More specifically, the invention monitors the use of land at aspecified site, as well as at adjacent sites. The system continuouslyreceives new land use data. The system identifies land use events at thespecified site and filters these monitoring hits against alert criteria.The system then generates alerts to specified parties. Based on thesealerts, proactive steps of intervention can be undertaken. The inventionanswers the question of how to manage risks resulting from externalactivities and how to intervene proactively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graphic representation of the asset and liability aspects ofreal property;

FIG. 2 is a graphic representation of the potential economic risks andlosses associated with real property;

FIG. 3 is a graphic representation of a method and apparatus formonitoring the use of land according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a block schematic diagram showing four basic steps employed ina method according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a block schematic diagram showing a targeting step accordingto the invention;

FIG. 6 is a block schematic diagram showing monitoring, filtering, andvalidation of land use data according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a block schematic diagram showing events detected according tothe invention;

FIG. 8 is a block schematic diagram showing alerts procedures,customized to requirements according to the invention;

FIG. 9 is a block schematic diagram showing an act step, in particularsupport: alert response management, according to the invention;

FIG. 10 is a block schematic diagram showing an example of a Tracy,Calif. sewer project according to the invention; and

FIG. 11 is a block schematic diagram showing an example of a Saratoga,Calif. redevelopment and related activities according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method and apparatus for monitoring the use ofland. More specifically, the invention monitors the use of land at aspecified site, as well as at adjacent sites. The system continuouslyreceives new land use data. The system identifies land use events at thespecified site and filters these monitoring hits against alert criteria.The system then generates alerts to specified parties. Based on thesealerts, proactive steps of intervention can be undertaken. The inventionanswers the question of how to manage risks relating to the use of landresulting from external activities and how to intervene proactively.This is illustrated graphically in FIG. 3.

DEFINITION OF TERMS USED

The following definitions shall apply in connection with the discussionherein:

Site: A specific geographic area of any size, typically as small as aresidential parcel of land, or as large as an airport or even a nationalpark. The definition of a site is also used in an expanded manner, suchas the area along an infrastructure, such as a pipeline or a street.Such a site can include the area taken up by the infrastructure plus anarea of a certain width to either side of the infrastructure. Theboundaries of a site do not need to align with the boundaries of thelegal description of a property, such as boundaries of a parcel. Sitesmay have three dimensions, which include width, length, and height ordepth, as well as four dimensions, e.g. time varying aspects of the sitemay be considered.

Land Use: Land use comprises any way of using the land of a site whichcan be, for example, a residential home, day care, commercial use,agricultural use, mining of resources of any kind, use of water (waterwell), use as airport, or any other activity performed on, under, orabove the land.

Institutional Control: This is a new class of land use restriction. If asite has been polluted by a responsible party (the polluter), theresponsible party, the local government, other agencies, and otherparties such as a developer can reach an agreement, which specifies thedegree to which the land needs to be cleaned up, as well as land usecontrols, called institutional controls. These institutional controlslimit how the land can be used. This is often necessary because not allthe pollution can be removed. Such limits for example specify that theland can be used for certain types of commercial use, but that it is notfit for residential development, or that none of the ground can beremoved or dug into. The institutional control can also require certainengineering controls to be in place, which are physical building andengineering requirements and which can include, for example, physicalmonitoring equipment, requirements that the surfaces need to be builtupon in a certain manner, or that water or vapor, for example, can orcannot penetrate or escape.

There are at least two types of institutional control, to whit:

-   -   Soft Institutional Controls: These controls are self-imposed by        a responsible party, and typically are not required by any        regulatory or government agency    -   Hard Institutional Controls: These are institutional controls        that are imposed by a third party who is not the owner, user,        and/or polluter of the site.

Discussion

The presently preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a databasecontaining the Site description data of the site to be monitored:

-   -   This description can be as simple as the location of the site,        whereas the location can be described in any manner, from        longitude/latitude parameters, parcel number, street address,        grid based mapping location, and/or altitude, elevation, or        depth.    -   Additional information can include:        -   A detailed description of elements of interest, such as the            pollution;        -   A graphical description, e.g. an outline of the location of            the pollution;        -   Contact names and addresses;        -   A description of the institutional controls.    -   In addition the description can include one or multiple zones,        where a different monitoring and alert procedure can be provided        for each zone.    -   The description may also include pictures or other visual        elements.    -   The zones or other above information can be visualized, e.g.        drawn on a two- or multi-dimensional map.

The invention further comprises a database which includes the IC Rulesdata (Institutional Control Rules). These IC rules describe therestriction and alert procedures such as, but not limited to:

-   -   Different restrictions specified for each zone, established        above;    -   The elements and frequency of monitoring the land use; and    -   The rules for alerting one or multiple parties regarding any        violations or conflicts.

The system includes a database containing land use activity data. Thisdata can either be generated by the system or provided by third parties.This data comprises any kind of data which can be related to ageographic location of the site, and varies between different locations.For example, the school zone, Congressional district, micro-climate inthe area of the site, vicinity of other sites, such as a store, anycrime statistics in neighborhood.

These data include, but are not limited to, such data as:

-   -   Any kind of real estate data, e.g. sales, zoning, current use,        tenant, rent rates;    -   Water well related data;    -   Building permit data or application data;    -   EPA data;    -   Requests for excavation, as well as excavation permits;    -   Any other land use related data;    -   Chemical spill data;    -   School, education data;    -   Political representation data;    -   Traffic data;    -   Socio demographic data, e.g. income, age, race, education;    -   Commercial data, e.g. type of business, sales, industry;    -   Crime rates, sex offender data;    -   Noise, air, climate data;    -   Health data, death rates and causes; and    -   Real time data provided by sensors, e.g. motion sensors, release        of gas sensors, video camera. Sensors herein are defined as any        device capturing real time physical activities or events.

Furthermore, in an extension, the activity data may not already exist asdata, but may need in an additional step to be generated using otherdata and/or other activity data sets and logic rules.

In a further extension, the data may need to be collected using physicalmeasuring instruments or other tools.

The system includes a logic module, which monitors the land useaccording to the IC rules using the activity data. The logic moduleassembles the data of the site in question into a shape file, whichexpands across a specific geographic area. The system then translatesthe activity data into a shape file with its specific geographic area,e.g. two-dimensional area of longitude and latitude, it may occupy at ashort or long moment of time. The system then compares the twogeographic areas to each other to determine and search for any areaoverlaps. If there is an overlap, the system logic module prepares andsends an alert.

Further extensions of the logic module include:

-   -   The shape area can be a three-dimensional shape, e.g. longitude,        latitude and altitude;    -   The shape can be two-dimensional, where one dimension is        altitude, elevation, or depth;    -   Shapes can be virtual, such as for example local demographics,        which might be expressed as income per household and linked to        geography via the description of the ZIP code, outline of school        district, street blocks, or other such identifier, describing        characteristics;    -   Shapes can be of any size, e.g. they could be on the level of        atoms or cosmic scale;    -   The shapes can have time as an additional fourth dimension;    -   The system can compare multiple shapes against each other to        search for any type of overlaps, e.g. simple or multiple        overlaps;    -   The shapes can be dynamic, and change according to logical        rules, such as:        -   Change in size; and/or        -   Change in location;    -   A person or object could be a shape owning a geographic location        for some moments in time;    -   Shapes can merge and split apart;    -   Alerts can be of any electronic or printed format, such as        email, voicemail, fax, certified mail, etc.;    -   One or multiple parties can be alerted;    -   There can be additional logic rules outlining an escalation path        for the alert mechanism;    -   An alert can be driven or initiated based on a specified time        sequence of events;    -   The alert logic module includes simple or extensive steps to        verify the alert, such as for example:        -   Check against other data sources to check plausibility or            seriousness;        -   Request from one or more systems additional information            needed for evaluation; and/or        -   To include manual operator input.

In a further extension, the system may include another logic module,referred to as an action module. This module receives the alert andcreates corrective action steps based on the alert. A corrective actionis any activity, which is not an alert or an evaluation of an alert. Itcan be an automated letter of complaint, a warning to the party havingcaused the alert to stop certain activities or introduce activities. Forexample, the letter might demand a polluting company to stop certainemissions. It may be a legal disclosure letter to the purchaser of theproperty next to the site, to make sure that the new owner is aware ofcertain land use restrictions.

In further embodiments:

-   -   The data may be distributed among systems, which may be        networked together via the Internet or other methods;    -   The logic module and action module may be physically the same        hardware; and    -   The logic and or action module tasks may be done by multiple        modules and/or systems, which may be distributed, and may        interact over the Internet.

Architecture

A currently preferred embodiment of the architecture of the invention isoutlined below.

The system comprises the following:

-   -   A database to store:        -   Sites and their characteristics;        -   Logic rules;        -   Output data (history);        -   Administration data, user password and other such            information;    -   User interfaces for data input:        -   Which is a Web based interface and associated screens;        -   User controls to upload information;        -   A system to system link, such as XML technology; and        -   A mobile computer unit;    -   A processor for applying the logic to the data, do computing        (today typically done by an application server);    -   A processor to present the output, (today typically done by a        Web server) and to present the output;    -   Output interfaces, such as:        -   Web based interface to see results;        -   User controls to output data, results;        -   Distribute the results electronically, e.g. email, computer            to computer, computer to fax or other output devices;        -   System to system link using the XML technology; and        -   A remote, mobile unit.

This architecture can be on the same physical computer, or it can bemulti-tier and be distributed across a network of computers, eachperforming some of the tasks.

Additional Applications of the Invention

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the user can interact anduse the system over the Internet. However, the user does not need to doso. All interaction between the system to provide data, receive alerts,and/or corrective actions can be delivered via multiple other methods.

In another embodiment of the invention, the activity data reside outsideof the system, and the system logic comprises a procedure to queryanother system, e.g. via a network such as the Internet, to get thedata.

In another embodiment of the invention, the logic rules are distributedamong multiple systems and computers, such as in the implementation ofthe invention in the form of a Web service.

The invention is especially powerful if a historic sequence of events isanalyzed. The logic module includes rules which allow the detection ofpatterns over time. These patterns are used to predict events beforethey happen. For example, if the historic records show that the zoninghas changed, and then a neighboring property is offered for sale, andthat the sale has occurred, this might indicate that a new owner maychange the use of the adjacent property, which might includeconstruction.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the system can also be used topredict certain other events before they occur, i.e. the logic rules caninclude the evaluation of additional data, such as the age of theproperty sold, the economic trends in the neighborhood, and other datapoints. For example, if the property purchased is over 30 years old, andif in general the area is in a phase of redevelopment, then there is arelatively high certainty that the new owner may demolish the existingstructure and rebuild.

In a further embodiment, the system can be expanded to be used in thecontext of a planning process. For example, a city planner can use thesystem to proactively learn about IC Controls and thus use the systemfor better planning process.

Detailed Description of Invention as Applied to Monitoring of Land Use

One example of the application of the invention is in the area ofenvironmental land use control. Such an application consists typicallyof four steps: target, monitor, alert, and act. FIG. 4 is a blockschematic diagram showing the four basic steps employed in a methodaccording to the invention

1. Target

FIG. 5 is a block schematic diagram showing a targeting step accordingto the invention.

The site to be monitored is entered into the system. This can be donemanually over the user interface or automatically by uploading the data.

The site to be monitored in the system is set up in the system. The sitemust be described in geographic terms which can be, for example, astreet address and street intersection, a parcel number, longitude andlatitude, a grid map, such as Thompson Brother Map, GPS data entry, forexample by walking around the site with a GPS tool, and adding GPSpoints, or other type of geographic identification data, which allowsthe site to be located geographically.

The site can be described by one or multiple zones, each descriptionbeing a zone. The zone description can be simple, e.g. circle of 0.1mile diameter, or a complex shape with exact GPS data points, as shownin FIG. 5.

In addition to setting up the zone or zones the user can specify, forexample:

-   -   What data sources need to be monitored against such zone;    -   The alert criteria for each zone and or data. The alert criteria        can be simple, e.g. a one sentence statement. The alert criteria        can also specify the alert path, who needs to be informed first,        second, and so on, based on which event and when. These alert        criteria can include soft or hard institutional controls or in        essence are the representation of institutional controls in the        system;    -   Follow up or act, what action the system or system operator        should take to follow up on the alert.

This set up is typically done once and updated over time if need be. Thetargeting can contain additional information; which could be extensiveenvironmental reports and data about the site.

The data entry can also be achieved by default parameters, allowing oneto enter a great number of sites, or sites where little information isavailable at the time of data entry.

2. Monitor

FIG. 6 is a block schematic diagram showing monitoring, filtering, andvalidation of land use data according to the invention

This second step is an ongoing activity as the system receives new dataabout land-use activities, such as in this example real estate data orexcavation notices, e.g. a utility company is replacing a sewer pipe,and other data.

These data of events need a geographic description of where the event isabout to occur, such as excavation notices which are received typically24 hours before the event, or has occurred such as a real estate sale orbuilding permit issue. This description can be of one or multiple types(same as zoning).

The system then checks the geography of the event against the geographyof the zone. It does nothing if the event does not overlap with one ormultiple zones.

If it does overlay, the system notes the overlap in a monitoring report,a sample of which can look like the background of FIG. 6.

The report shows the address or identifier of the site, the address ofthe event, and possibly a short description, providing more detail ofthe event.

The report can also be a geographic representation as shown in FIG. 7.This representation shows the site and the events. It could be graphicas shown in FIG. 7, it could be shown as a map, or it could also includean aerial picture.

3. Alert

FIG. 8 is a block schematic diagram showing alerts procedures,customized to requirements according to the invention.

In this third step the monitoring report, which is basically a hitreport, indicates that there is an event within a zone. However, theevent might not be cause for alarm. The alert does filter the monitoringhits against the alert criteria. Only if there is a fit is an alertcreated.

For example, if the plume (pollution area) shown in FIG. 7 is twentyfeet underground, and the sewer replacement is only eight feet deep,then there is no cause to send an alert because the event is notcritical. However, if the plume is four feet underground, there is greatsafety and health concern for the excavation worker and an alert needsto be sent to the persons or systems as specified in the alert criteriain step 1 above.

This review of the monitoring results against the alert criteria can bedone manually, i.e. a person does the review and uses the system tocreate the alert by an interface. It could also be done by the logic ofthe system, or in a split fashion, where the system does some reviewalong basic rules and the human expert does others. The same approachcan be used with the sending of alerts, which could be done by system,manually, or in a combination thereof.

The alert can be sent to the user via email, or output to other devices,such as a fax system. This is push method, pushing the alert to theuser, responsible party, or whoever needs to receive the alert. The usercan also go to the system and see the alert there, which is the oftenless effective pull method.

FIG. 9, on the left hand column, shows an alert. There is a map of thesite and event, a brief description of the site, and the event, as wellas a summary of actions taken in response to the alert. This actionsummary is updated as new actions are done and recorded in the system.This is just one example of the representation of the alert.

4. Act

FIG. 9 is a block schematic diagram showing an act step, in particularsupport: alert response management, according to the invention.

Steps 1 to 3 discussed above are key to the invention. Step 4 can havemultiple forms and is a logic extension.

For example, the system can contain a case management tool, whichassures that no alert is dropped, thus forcing the system user andoperator to monitor the alert action and make sure something happens.

Often for large complex companies it is important to coordinate theresponse and actions. The system could provide the basis for such steps,which would be case management or project tools.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show examples of how a system as outlined in thisinvention would have detected such activities. In particular, FIG. 10 isa block schematic diagram showing an example of a Tracy, Calif. sewerproject according to the invention; and FIG. 11 is a block schematicdiagram showing an example of a Saratoga, Calif. redevelopment andrelated activities according to the invention.

Other Applications of the Invention

The invention is not limited to managing polluted sites as is outlinedherein.

The invention is not limited to longer term monitoring, such as watchinga site for months or decades. The invention could also be applied toshort term sites of interest, such as for utility construction. In thisexample the utility company uses the system to plan and execute itswork. The geographic area targeted in this example is the area along andaround the planned utility trenching work. Once the work is completed,such as when a new sewer system is built, the site is taken again out ofthe system.

Further, the geographic area zone could be smaller and changing overtime. For example, the area could be the dimensions of a car or truck,changing its geographic position as and when it moves. Furthermore, itcould include not only the actual, real time position of the zone, butdescribe a planned move, such as the route where the vehicle plans togo. In other words, the zone of travel is the land use for a short timeperiod. For example, planning the route of a truck containing hazardousmaterials can identify where the land use of the road for the materialsmight not be appropriate or very risky with respect to the other landuses of that road or around the road, and consequently an alternativeroute should be selected. For example, it might not be appropriate tochoose a road for a truck containing explosive materials which travelsalong the route of an oil pipeline.

The invention as here described is not limited to the physical structureof a pollution plume. It could include any above or underground physicalstructure. It may include dynamic pollution, such as air pollution whichmoves over time.

Furthermore, as seen in the next example the invention is not limited tophysical structures.

The invention can be expanded to manage institutional controls withrespect to the use of air space above a physical property. With theaddition of time as a fourth dimension the invention can be used tomanage flights above the site. It is interesting to note that in thisexpansion there is no physical structure, but solely the concept of airspace rights.

The invention can be used for national security tasks, such as analyzingthe historic land use against certain profiles and provide an alert ifthere is a match.

The invention can be used for the due diligence process of any realestate transaction.

The invention can be used to manage assets, for example:

-   -   Such as private water wells. The owner uses the system to learn        early of any activities which might diminish the value of his        assets, in other words that are a threat to pollute his water or        his ability to exploit the well;    -   Store property. For example, a store owner or store operator        might want to know the change of traffic patterns, of available        store space, new store leases, new openings, local demographic        shifts in relationship to his store location, to optimize his        business

Although the invention is described herein with reference to thepreferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat other applications may be substituted for those set forth hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the Claims includedbelow.

1. A computer implemented apparatus for monitoring use of land,comprising: a logic module configured to identify a site to be monitoredin connection with one or more zones, wherein said site comprises aspecific geographic area, and wherein boundaries of said site do notnecessarily align with boundaries of a legal description of a property;said logic module configured to regularly monitor ongoing land useactivities in connection with said site in view of at least one land userestriction which limits how said site can be used; said logic moduleconfigured to maintain data that are generated as a result of saidmonitoring, wherein said data comprise data which are related to landuse activities in conjunction with a particular geographic location ofsaid site and which data vary between different geographic locationswithin said site, wherein said data also comprise said at least one landuse restriction; a database comprising alert criteria which specify whenan alert should be generated based upon detection by said logic module,during said regular monitoring of land use activities at said differentgeographic locations within site, of at least one specific land useactivity that violates said at least one land use restriction withinsaid one or more zones at least one of said different geographiclocations within site; and said logic module configured to generate analert if a land use activity is detected at least one of said differentgeographic locations within site within a zone associated with said sitethat matches said alert criteria.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinsaid land use restriction is self-imposed by a responsible party, and isnot required by any regulatory or government agency.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said zones comprise any of a property management zone,an intrusion protection zone, and a resource zone.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein a site comprises any of: an area along aninfrastructure; a time varying geographic area; and a route.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising: said logic module configuredfor validation, alert follow-up, and reporting.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said site comprises a plurality of zones.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein a user can specify any of: what datasources need to be monitored against each zone; alert criteria for eachzone and/or data; and what action should be taken to follow up on analert.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said land use activity datacomprise any of: real estate data which comprises any of sales, zoning,current use, tenant, and rent rates; water well related data; buildingpermit data or application data; EPA data; requests for excavation, aswell as excavation permits; land use related data; chemical spill data;school, education data; political representation data; traffic data;socio-demographic data which comprises any of income, age, race, andeducation; commercial data which comprises any of type of business,sales, and industry; crime rates; sex offender data; any of noise, air,and climate data; any of health data, death rates and causes; and realtime data provided by sensors, wherein said sensors comprises any devicethat is capable of capturing a real time physical activity.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said logic module is configured togenerate said activity data from other data and/or other activity datasets and logic rules.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:said logic module configured to provide alert response management by:checking said alert against a database; coordinating an alert response;closing an alert; and documenting said alert.
 11. The apparatus of claim1, wherein said alert criteria comprise any of: a short statement; andan alert path describing who needs to be informed and in what order,based on which event and when said event occurred.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising: said logic module configured to checkgeography of an event against geography of a zone; and if said eventoverlaps one or multiple zones, said logic module configured to notesaid overlap in a monitoring report.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12,further comprising: said logic module configured to filter overlaps insaid monitoring report against alert criteria; and said logic moduleconfigured to create an alert only if there is a match.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein filtering comprises any of geographicfiltering, land activity filtering, and validation.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said logic module is configured to monitor and validatethe operation of one or more engineering controls specified by said landuse restriction.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sitecomprises any of one or more zones that have boundaries which changeover time and/or that are ephemeral.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein said logic module is configured to assemble said land useactivity data into a shape file, wherein said shape expands across aspecific geographic area.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, furthercomprising: said logic module configured to translate said land useactivity data into said shape file; and said logic module configured tocompare geographic areas represented by said land use activity data andsaid shape file with each other to determine and search for any areaoverlaps, wherein if there is an overlap, said logic module isconfigured to prepare and send an alert.
 19. The apparatus of claim 1,said site further comprising site description data that comprise any of:location of said site, wherein said location is described in any oflongitude/latitude parameters, parcel number, street address, grid basedmapping location, and/or altitude or elevation; a detailed descriptionof elements of interest; a graphical description; contact names andaddresses; a description of said land use restriction; and pictures orother visual elements.
 20. The apparatus of claim 1, said sitecomprising: a plurality of zones, wherein a different monitoring and/oralert procedure can be provided for each zone.
 21. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said land use restrictions describe land userestriction and alert procedures which comprise any of: different landuse restrictions specified for each of a plurality of zones; elementsand frequency of monitoring the land use; and rules for alerting one ormultiple parties regarding any violations or conflicts with said landuse restrictions.
 22. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: oneor more physical measuring instruments for collecting said land useactivity data.
 23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said logic moduleis configured to determine any of: a shape area comprising athree-dimensional shape comprising any of longitude, latitude andaltitude; a shape area comprising a two-dimensional shape, where onedimension is altitude; a virtual shape; and a shape area comprising timeas a fourth dimension.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said logicmodule is configured to compare multiple shapes against each other tosearch for overlaps.
 25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said shapeis dynamic and changes according to logical rules, which comprise any ofa change in size and a change in location.
 26. The apparatus of claim23, wherein any of a person and object comprises a shape owning ageographic location over time.
 27. The apparatus of claim 23, whereinshapes can be merged and/or split apart.
 28. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein said alert comprises any of an electronic or printed format; andwherein any of: one or multiple parties are alerted; logic rules areprovided to outline an escalation path for the alert mechanism; and analert is driven or initiated based on a specified time sequence ofevents.
 29. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising: an alertlogic module configured to execute steps to verify an alert, whereinsuch steps comprise any of: checking against other data sources to checkplausibility or seriousness; and requesting additional informationneeded for evaluation from one or more systems.
 30. The apparatus ofclaim 17, further comprising: an action module configured to receive analert and to create corrective action steps based on said alert, whereinsaid corrective action comprises any activity which is not an alert oran evaluation of an alert.
 31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein saidcorrective action comprises any of: an automated letter of complaint; awarning to a party having caused an alert to stop certain activities orintroduce activities; and a legal disclosure letter to a purchaser of aproperty next to said site to make sure that the new owner is aware ofcertain land use restrictions.
 32. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinsaid logic module is configured to manage land use restrictions withrespect to use of air space above a physical property.
 33. The apparatusof claim 1, further comprising: said logic module configured to alertspecified parties along specified escalation paths.
 34. The apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising: said logic module configured to act forpurposes of validation, alert follow-up, and reporting.
 35. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said data are any of automaticallygenerated and provided by third parties.